Turn Back
by Beckon
Summary: ...And then you came back." R&R.


**A/N: Alright so tried my hand at making a story that actually fit into the plotline of their battle. **

"Hey Four Eyes! You still alive in there?"

A low groan pierced his lips at the sudden voice; it registered as an unbearable screech in his skull. A thick, dull ring echoed in his head as he slowly started to bring himself out of what felt like a coma. His entire body felt numb and he could barely see anything when he did eventually force one eye opened; everything within five inches was a complete blur of white and red. He released a low sigh and fell back against the bitter-cold floor underneath him. What little pain his broken nerves could register pooled around his spine and along the back of his neck, where he could still feel warm blood slowly ooze from the open injuries. Blood rushed past his lips as an object forced its way into his side; breaking his already bruised ribs from their protective membrane.

"Jesus..." he gasped; feeling hot pain make its way across his body. He slowly started to pick himself up but felt his weak arms about to give out from underneath him. Rolling onto his back, he hissed as his heated injuries came in contact with the floor; forcing more blood to bubble from the wounds.

"Well it's about time you finally opened your eyes." a female voice remarked. "I've been kicking you in the side for about five minutes consecutively. That's about the third rib I've broken."

He slowly raised a hand and placed it against his face; touching at the swollen flesh that slowly began to circle around one eye. "What happened?"

"Not the least bit surprised you don't remember a damn thing, Quincy, your head got hit quite a few times."

Why did that voice sound so familiar? Testing out his vision once more, he carefully opened his eyes to the dim lights about him; slowly but surely everything started to fall back into place and he was able to put a few pieces together. He watched as a figure slowly stood in his line of vision; dark curls tumbled over slender shoulders as the figure slightly leaned over him. Although his vision was still a little weak, he could make out dark-purple lips and what looked like matching teardrop-like objects that decorated a face.

It felt like electricity shot through his body as her image came together to him. He started to get up as the shock slowly turned to fear that welled up in his chest but it was a sharp force against his sternum that pushed him back against the floor. The sharp heel of her boot dug into his flesh slightly as she applied just enough pressure to keep him pinned to the ground.

"I am really in no state to chase after you." she spoke; crossing her bruised arms over her chest.

"I...why are you...what happened?" he questioned. With what felt like hundreds of questions running through his mind, he couldn't seem to stay focused on just one sentence long enough to form it.

She rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue in annoyance. "You expect me to help you remember what happened, what uh, a few hours ago?"

"What are you-" he started before stopping as everything seemed to come flooding back to him. He remembered the snap of her whip that echoed the entire time of their battle; he remembered her release form; he remembered destroying her...or at least rendering her powerless; and he remembered leaving. But he rendered her powerless for the rest of her life, so how was she still standing? And what did she mean by what happened a few hours ago? How long had he been out? And why did it feel like he got the complete shit beat out of him?

"You got that look on your face Quincy, I think I've seen it before." she mused. "You're probably wondering why I'm standing on top of you after all the shit that you did. You know in fact now that I remember that, I should really kick you in the knads for it."

"Can you just answer my question." he sighed; tired of having to repeat the same thing over and over again.

"Yeah, after you decided to leave me here to wallow in my self-pity, the Exequias decided to show up and well you know what they do to Arrancars who fail in defeating their enemies." She answered; her arms slightly tightening before she slowly dropped them to her side. "...And then you came back."

He watched as her emotions went from anger and then dropped to an almost empty look; those purple eyes narrowed slightly but not in any particularly expression. "They were going to kill you..."

"Yes Quincy...they were going to kill me."

"I thought I hated you because of how you mocked me the entire time we fought..." he started. "Then I saw how they were going to kill you when you couldn't even fight back, and I realized that I hated them instead."

A light chuckle teased her lips as she placed her eyes elsewhere; her heel dug deeper into his chest before she slowly removed it and set it back against the stained floor. "Yeah well that would explain why you came rampaging back in here like some kind of Nazi."

"Did you just call me a Nazi?" he questioned; carefully pushing himself up on his arms.

"It doesn't really matter because more of them will just show up to finish the job." she interrupted. "So you might as well haul ass and get as far away from here as possible."

He watched as she didn't even give him eye contact before turning her back on him; her heels clicked against the floor tile as she started to walk away. "Cirucci...wait..."

"Quincy, if you think you're going to be able to fight off any more of them, then you're dead wrong." she spoke. "So unless you want to end up like me, then you should get out of here. Now."

_She's already given up..._

"I'm not leaving you."

The clicking of her heels froze as she stopped just a few feet in front of him. Slowly, step by step, she turned halfway to look back at him. Her dark-purple eyes resting on his once white uniform now ripped and stained completely with blood. He had taken quite a beating from the Exequias members but the one injury that stuck out to her was the deep split on his left shoulder; the material was heavy with blood and covered up most of the damage but she remembered hearing the sound of muscles and bones crunching when she hit him. Deep bruises covered one side of his face while deep cuts split open one eyelid and his lower lip. His glasses had one lens shattered while the other one was just partially cracked. And even though he couldn't see the injuries on his back, she had slightly memorized the deep gashes the Exequias members left upon his spine; that's where he was losing the most blood. Hell she was surprised he was still able to maintain consciousness with his injuries and with the blood lost.

"Excuse me?" she questioned.

The feel of her purple eyes burning against his own caused his breath to freeze at his lips and yet he wasn't willing to let her intimidate him. "I..I'm not leaving."

She let an almost bitter laugh leave her at his words. "Quincy, has the first rule of life slipped from your mind? Every man dies. So here's a tip, don't waste your breath; get off your ass and get out of here. You'll find far worse people out there than me."

"Every man dies...but not every man lives." he finished. "And I don't think I could live with myself if I left you here."

"Really, Four-Eyes? Because you didn't seem to have a problem with it earlier." she scoffed.

"I didn't know they were going to show up..." he defended. "If I had known..."

"Save your breath." she interrupted. "If you had known, you would've just killed me straight out. And you know what, I would've appreciated that more than you saving me."

"I couldn't bring myself to kill you, that's why I didn't."

She clicked her tongue slightly and crossed her arms; her purple orbs closing as she tried to erase his image from her mind. "No, you couldn't but you know what you did instead? You took away my power, my strength, and my pride. I'm no longer a Privaron Espada; I'm no longer an Arrancar; I'm no longer a Hollow... I'm nothing. And if that makes you happy and proud of yourself because you _didn't_ kill me, then by all means, enjoy yourself and your fucking self-righteousness. Hell you're a fucking Saint now, Quincy; you should be proud."

Her words hit harder than her whip did as he found himself at a loss of words. "That's not true..."

"Really Quincy? As if you haven't done enough damage-" she snapped.

"I have a name you know." he interrupted; watching as her eyes turned to burn against his own once more.

"Does it really look like I give a fuck, Four-Eyes?" she retorted.

"You're beautiful."

It felt like her body had been engulfed suddenly in cold water at his words; every muscle in her body stiffened and froze in place. His dark eyes only held onto her own for a few seconds before he dropped the contact, almost as though he had silenced himself with the sudden outburst. She could barely register the words as she questioned it over and over again in her mind; part of her wondering if that's what she had really heard or if it was just some kind of joke. No matter how many times she tried to think of a comeback, all she could think of were those words and her mind went blank once again.

"I..." she started; unsure of where she was going with it.

"You said you were nothing...and that's not true." he spoke softly.

She turned her eyes away and stared at the wreckage of the battlefield around her; the fallen pillars that had once been like a false home to her. Her arms dropped back to her side as her hands clenched into loose fists. "You're quite the talker aren't you Ishida?" she ruffled her thick locks with one hand before brushing a few strands out of her face. "You stupid....human men..."


End file.
